“A beautiful place,” he said finally. “A city of culture.”

“A city of rain,” she interrupted. “Rainiest spot on the continent. Rains 250 days a year — summer, fall, winter, and spring.”

In other words, it always rains. Is this a place my husband and I really want to visit?

Well, yes. A city that’s been deemed a “European City of Culture” (an honor bestowed by the European Union upon select cities that have contributed mightily to the culture of the world) and has also been named a UNESCO World Heritage City because of its enduring cultural significance is most certainly a city that is worth a few drops of rain.

On the first morning we look out our hotel room window and see sun—bright, happy sun shining down on buildings that shimmer with color. We’ve won the weather lottery.

Peaked roofs covered with orange, gold, black, and sometimes red tiles sit atop walls that may be light gray or ivory but are more often vibrant gold or soft blue.

Off in the distance a church topped with delicate pinnacles and spires stands guard over the haphazard streets. I later learn that this church — Johanneskirken in Norwegian, St. John’s in English — is the largest in Bergen and dates back to 1894.

Three hours later, the clouds obscure the sun. Four hours later, we’re drenched. That’s when I remember that my friend told us a proverb she learned from her grandmother: There’s no such thing as bad weather in Bergen, just inappropriate clothes.

My husband and I race back to the hotel and grab parkas for our bodies, dry shoes for our feet, and myriad plastic bags for his camera. Then, outfitted appropriately, we set out to imbibe some culture.

We begin in the center of town, which 1,000 years ago was home to the medieval town of Bryggen. Many of the original buildings were destroyed by fire during the 1700s and subsequently rebuilt on the old foundations, meaning that the footprints and often the function remained the same.

The reconstructed buildings are lined along the wharf, facing the water that made Bryggen an economic powerhouse — in medieval terms, of course. Today the terms have changed. Bergen is still an economic powerhouse, but it deals in tourists instead of fish.

We spend the better part of a day strolling along the cobblestone streets and planked walkways of old Bryggen and exploring repurposed buildings, now crooked with age.

We see trolls in every size and shape in the souvenir shops, admire handmade knits with Nordic designs in the galleries, and eat ...

Oh my, we eat. First we down a sandwich laden with shrimp, crab, and salmon.

Then we warm up with a sjokoladerdrikk (hot chocolate) from a Starbucks that’s housed in a building that looks like a giant wedding cake, complete with a frosting of white. Two hundred years ago this building was the town’s meat market.

A few blocks away, an old bakery has been turned into a new McDonald’s.

Thoroughly sated, we visit the Hanseatic Museum, where we take a guided tour that helps us better understand Bergen’s history. Then we wander over to the wharf to see some of the ships that take nearly a half-million passengers a year on trips to the spectacular Norwegian fjords.

Some of these ships, which number more than 300 a year, are mega-ships, each carrying thousands of passengers to the larger ports along the coast. Others, like those operated by Hurtigruten, are smaller vessels that combine cargo stops to small towns with passenger amenities for cruisers who want a more unusual voyage.

The next day passes too quickly as we try to absorb the city’s art and music scene. It’s a large scene — one that encompasses both past and present.

Music aficionados can visit the home of Norway’s most famous composer, Edvard Grieg, as well as the villa of violin virtuoso Ole Bull, while art enthusiasts can explore Bergen’s Art Street, an impressive row of galleries and museums that borders Lake Lungegårdsvann.

As we walk back to our hotel, we feel the soft drops of an evening rain, but this time we hardly notice. We’ve fallen in love with Bergen.

For more on Bergen and Norway in general, go to www.traveltizers.com. Photos © Irv Green unless otherwise noted; story by Andrea Gross (www.andreagross.com).